1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parking brake apparatus of a vehicle, and particularly to a parking brake apparatus suitable for a utility vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a parking brake apparatus includes a brake actuating unit, such as a brake caliper and the like, a brake lever arranged in a vicinity of a driver's seat, and a push-pull type brake cable connecting the brake actuating unit and the brake lever to each other.
FIG. 13 shows a parking brake apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H05-004564, in which a base plate 202 for supporting a brake lever is fixed to a vehicle body frame 200 via a bracket 201, and has a lever pivot 203 at an upper end portion of the base plate 202 and an outer cable holding portion 204 at a lower end portion thereof. A brake lever 210 is pivotably supported by the lever pivot 203, and outer cables 210La, 210Ra of left and right brake cables 210L, 210R are fixed to the outer cable holding portion 204.
Left and right inner cables 210Lb, 210Rb are upwardly extended from upper ends of the outer cables 210La, 210Ra, respectively, to be connected to front and rear end portions of an equalizer 211. A center portion in a fore-and-aft direction of the equalizer 211 and the brake lever 210 are connected therebetween by a link 216.
In the conventional example in FIG. 13, upper end portions of both of the outer cables 210La, 210Ra supported in the outer cable holding portion 204, both of the inner cables 210Lb, 210Rb protruding from both of the outer cables 210La, 210Ra, the equalizer 211, and the common link 216 are all arranged at a one side of left and right sides of the base plate 202. This arrangement requires a large component arrangement space to be secured at the one side of the base plate 202, and thereby, a lack of compactness remains as an unsolved problem. In addition, since a bending load is applied to the one side surface side against the base plate 202 when a brake is operated, it is necessary to increase a thickness of the base plate 202.